PESHAWAR, May 11: Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said on Friday that relations between Pakistan and Turkey were based on friendship, mutual trust and respect for each other. He added the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government wanted Turkish entrepreneurs to invest in potential sectors of the province.

He expressed these views during a meeting with Chief Director of Protocol Pak-Turk Foundation Mr Turgat who called on him on Friday. Matters relating to investment in education, transport and sanitation sectors came under discussion.

Mian Iftikhar said the Turkish government had started various projects in Lahore, including metro service, bus terminal and other schemes and added similar projects should also be initiated in Peshawar. He also suggested declaring any city of Turkey as twin city of Peshawar on the pattern of Istanbul-Lahore.

Pakistan offered a viable and feasible market to the Turkish products where it could establish its feet easily as compared to Europe, stressed Mr Iftikhar.

The minister said the ANP gave special importance to education, which could be gauged from the fact that Bacha Khan had established 100 schools in 1930, and pursuing the mission of their leader, the ANP government took revolutionary steps for the promotion of education and spread a network of universities, colleges in the province.

The ANP government has decided to raise the education budget to four per cent of the GDP, he said, adding, “Youth are a precious asset and we are fully concentrating on their uplift.”

Mr Turgat assured that he would arrange meetings of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa delegation with Turkish investors and high ups of the government for exploring the avenues of investment in the province.

He was confident that Turkish investors would certainly come to this part of the country as they had great regard and respect for the people of Pakistan.—APP